Early voting refers to extending voting over many days, and even weeks, and allow people to mail-in ballots rather than show up in person on election day without having to provide a valid excuse. It is a liberal gimmick that has the effect of partially disenfranchising the value of informed votes on Election Day.

Traditionally, absentee voters had to state one of several allowed reasons to vote before election day, while early voting encourages all eligible voters to cast ballots that are not fully informed, prior to Election Day. Scholars consider both early voting and absentee voting to be forms of "convenience voting",[1] which are used by more that 30% of United States voters.

Early voting has spread as Democrats realize that the uninformed votes give them a comparative advantage. As pushed by Democrats, many states in the United States have laws adopting forms of early voting. According to the Early Voting Center at Reed College, the following states allow early voting in 2012: North Carolina, Indiana, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Georgia, Arkansas, Idaho, Maryland, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Louisiana, Wyoming, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, California, New Mexico, Utah, Arizona, Alaska, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada and Hawaii.[2] Liberal-leaning foreign nations have also adopted some form of early voting, such as Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and Thailand.

In 2008, one-third of Americans voted prior to Election Day, and that fraction increased to 40% or so in 2012. In the Nevada Election 2010, more than half the votes cast were by early voting. Some states make the list of early voters and absentee voters available to the public or to the political campaigns. By contrast, all states make the list of voters available after an election.

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Possible impacts

There are two major objections to early voting. First, it facilitates voter intimidation, particularly by unions and large employers that try to increase turnout by their people.[3] Second, it increases the potential for voter fraud, particularly in the absence of protections that safeguard the integrity of physical votes.[4] Some critics claim early voting establishes a mechanism where union bosses and the Democratic machine can harass Americans until they vote. This risks infringement on the right not to vote.

While early voting plainly undermines the notion of a uniform Election Day, various arguments are used, typically by Democrats, to advocate its adoption by state legislatures. One argument is that early voting increases overall turnout. Another argument used in Ohio is that Ohio voters should not have to wait in line until 4:00 am the following morning to cast a ballot in a presidential election, as happened in 2004.[5] Of course, extra poll workers, voting machines, and booths could be added for Election Day to address this concern. Some, including Ohio's Cuyahoga County, argue that early voting can save money in this regard, as the same machines and equipment that would otherwise be idle can be used, avoiding the need to purchase new and expensive election equipment. But Political Science Professor Todd Eberly argues that early voting adds millions of dollars in expense while lowering overall voter turnout:[6]

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Early voting is actually a waste of taxpayer money that does not boost turnout. In a study of the 2008 election, researchers at the University of Wisconsin actually found that early voting results in lower turnout – not higher. Specifically they found that though more than 30 percent of votes cast in the 2008 presidential race arrived before Election Day, the study determined early voting actually depressed turnout in a typical county by 3 percentage points.

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In a 1996 study of early voting turnout in Tennessee elections in 1994, Lilliard E. Richardson, Jr. and Grant W. Neely said that early voting could increase overall turnout.[7]

In a 2007 paper, Paul Gronke, Eva Galanes-Rosenbuam, and Peter A. Miller (all affiliated with Reed College) found that early voting improves the procedural integrity of elections and results in a modest increase in overall turnout. The authors nevertheless conclude "It is no longer a question of whether early voting is a smart reform; the question now is what sort of early voting to allow and how to adjust to its impact."[8]

A state-by-state analysis is available showing the percentage of ballots cast in early voting,[9] but note that the percentage is growing rapidly with each election.

Some people argue that early voting helps one political party over the other, but the impact of early voting depends on the circumstances of each particular election. Early voting has drawn support from both Republicans and Democrats.

Colorado

In Colorado in "2008, Democrats had about a 25,000-ballot advantage over Republicans in early voting. But Republican turnout zoomed past Democrats' on Election Day, and more Republicans than Democrats ultimately voted in 2008."[10] In 2010, there were about 1,638,000 votes cast for the U.S. Senate seat from Colorado, but well over 1 million people participated in early voting.[11]

Maryland

Maryland voters approved a constitutional amendment in November 2008 to allow early voting starting with the primary elections in 2010. Maryland now offers both early voting in person and absentee voting by mail.[12]

In the 2012 General Election, 430,573 early votes were cast in Maryland. Of these early votes, 13.9% of registered Democratic voters and 9.3% of registered Republican voters voted early.[13]

Virginia

Virginia does not have formal early voting. However, Virginia provides for both mail-in and in-person absentee voting.[14] To vote absentee, the voter must fill out an affidavit stating that one of several reasons for absentee voting applies.[15] In contrast, in early voting states, any voter can vote before election day without stating a reason.

The absentee voting period begins 45 days before election day.[16] In response to Hurricane Sandy reducing in-person absentee voting opportunities before the 2012 election, on October 28, 2012, Republican Governor Robert McDonnell announced that he was requesting the State Board of Elections to expand the number of in-person absentee voting hours between the end of the storm and the election day.[17]

Virginia provides the list of people who have requested absentee ballots or have in-person absentee voted to political parties "upon request and for a reasonable fee."[18] The parties then contact voters based on that data.[19]

In November 2012, State Senator Janet Howell renewed her call for Virginia to adopt early voting after voters had to stand in line for hours in the 2012 General election.[20]

Wisconsin

Wisconsin does not have formal early voting. However, Wisconsin allows both mail-in and in-person absentee voting. In-person absentee voting is held in the two weeks before each election.[21]

Other states

In North Carolina, the list of absentee voters is available online without any charge.[19] Iowa authorized in-person absentee voting starting 40 days before a primary or general election.[23] Iowa charges for the absentee voter list on a per voter basis.[19]

Voting by mail

Oregon and Washington use mail voting for all voters. This scheme allows voters to cast their votes in advance of election day. In 1998, Oregon voters passed an initiative requiring that all elections be conducted by mail. Voters may also drop their ballots off at a county-designated official drop site.

In 2011, Washington passed a law requiring all counties to conduct vote-by-mail elections.[24] Local governments in Washington had the option to do so since 1987, and statewide elections had permitted it since 1993.[25][26] In the Washington system, ballots must be postmarked by election day, so complete results are delayed by several days.[26]